Are we at the point in the market maturation where it is worth grading non-holo 1st edition Rares from sets other than base set? I’ve had pack fresh sets of every 1st edition Neo Set sitting around for a long time. Are the rares worth grading or has the market price of them not made it worthwhile yet? If not how many years do you think it will be before these sets become a big thing?
What is your definition of worth it?
What this man said.
It depends what’s your expectation, though I’m sure you will net more than the $7-10 grading cost extra for PSA rares. Especially if we’re talking sets like Neo Destiny and such.
Here’s an example of a common.
1st Ed Light Slunfora ungraded
$1.25
1st Ed Light Sunflora PSA 10
$14.99
Yeah worth it “financially”, i.e. is a financially smart decision. I treat Pokemon collecting as both a hobby and asset management. I never make any major moves in my collection without considering if it is a wise financial decision (going to ultimately increase its value) as well, since in the end some day my collection is either getting sold or given to my kids.
Right now it’s just really hard to tell what sort of appetite the market has for PSA graded 1st edition rares from these sets. Are we currently in the phase of people just doing binder collections with them or are people creating PSA sets of them and the prices already reflect this?
I think last time I checked a couple of months ago the Rare Fossil cards were doing quite well, not sure if that’s still the case or has extended to other sets?
On the long run, especially WotC, all cards are worth it in PSA9/10. Even that common trainer card you pull out of every booster. At some point Base to Team Rocket becomes to expensive. Also, the people that started Pokémon with Gold and Silver are now in the age that they have disposable income and will hook into Neo and e-Series easier than Base-Jungle-Fossil, because they relate more to the 2nd Generation Pokémon.
And of course you got the full set collectors, and for them it’s a matter of completing and than all cards matter.
I think it’s worth it, if you can turn $10 rares to a $40+ cards. Plus it will be well protected and will obviously earn you more in the long run than a bunch of bulk rares for a couple of bucks each. Unless you piece everything 1 by 1 and take a year to sell everything.
I see more and more people trying to achieve a complete PSA 10 set mainly on the Base, Jungle and Fossil 1st editions. There are some that aim to build all the cards in all WOTC sets in PSA 10 condition, however I wouldn’t say many have that goal.
Jungle and Fossil 1st Editions, I think are a wise move, since the set has the remain Pokémon out of the 151. Don’t expect to get a lot of money out of them, but certainly they will have a small and steady increase. This in PSA 10 condition of course, bellow that it will be risky.
Especially if you got the financials to back up big bulk submissions to lower the costs of grading.
The problem is, unless you crack packs yourself, is to find mint non-holo rares. These cards just don’t get the love their holo counterparts receive.
Exactly. I’m not advising OP to grade ALL his cards, but it is a very wise move in my opinion. Plus later down the road he will have a much easier time selling. He can just go to some ebay power sellers and they will be all over this stuff. Unlike boxes/binders full of ungraded cards.
Yeah I’m starting to think my immediate funds can be better spent elsewhere. If I was later into my collecting and had more of the cards I was after I would probably do this, but there is still a long list of cards I need. They aren’t going anywhere and aren’t going to get damaged in my possession. Might be better money spent picking up a gold star charizard for example then spending $800 grading 100 1st edition cards.